Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has launched a paid verification service, Meta Verified, in the US, allowing users to get a blue tick for $14.99 per month on iOS and Android, and $11.99 per month on the website, similar to Twitter’s Blue service.
The service will be available on Facebook and Instagram. This announcement comes after Meta’s recent announcement that it will lay off 10,000 employees.
To get protection against impersonation, direct access to customer service, and a blue tick, Meta Verified users must be 18 or older and provide a government ID. In November, Twitter introduced a verification process, but abandoned it soon after due to misuse of the blue tick to impersonate famous personalities and politicians.
Twitter Blue was relaunched a few weeks later with distinct coloured ticks for governments, companies, and individuals.
After testing in Australia and New Zealand, Meta Verified has now been introduced in the US. Facebook has been free for almost two decades, depending largely on advertising revenue as the primary source of income.
Meta is exploring alternative sources of revenue as advertising income dwindles. Snap, Telegram, and Twitter have also introduced paid verification to generate revenue outside of advertising.
A paid verification service represents a deviation from the famous adage associated with Facebook: “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.”
